Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Price, Mr. Smith’s Settle Lawsuit

A settlement was reached in the discrimination lawsuit put forth by Taylor Price (MSB ’10), who is disabled, against M Street bar Mr. Smith’s of Georgetown. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia documents from Jan. 19 confirm that Price sought dismissal of the case. According to Price, the settlement was an amicable one.

Although no official statement pertaining to the conditions of the settlement has been released to the public, Mr. Smith’s has made a donation to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to finding treatments for paralysis. Price has been a quadriplegic since a 2004 swimming accident.

“Mr. Price’s concerns have been fully addressed, and this matter has been amicably resolved,” an official statement issued jointly by Mr. Smith’s and Price said.

The original civil court complaint sought a demand of $75,000, but Price said he received no compensation as part of the settlement.

Price filed a lawsuit in September 2009 in the D.C. District Court, claiming a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The lawsuit claimed that Price was denied admittance to Mr. Smith’s because his presence presented a fire hazard to the bar.

“[The manager] said that if I wished to remain in Mr. Smith’s, I would have to sit in a corner, and he pointed to a corner in the front of the restaurant,” Price said in a September 2009 issue of The Hoya.

In September, Price told D.C.-based WUSA News 9 that the main purpose of the lawsuit was to ensure that bars do not discriminate against people with disabilities.”

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